试论北魏士族铨叙依据的“资”

The Qualifications of the Official Making Appointment for the Aristocrat in the Northern Wei Dynasty

北魏自孝文帝太和中叶起,承袭魏晋贵族传统,倾力打造阀阅士族体制,切实贯彻门第流品理念,突出表现为恪守依"资"铨叙的规则。北魏文献中提及的"资",大多数是指家族世代累积的官爵权势,按晋品令计算均值即知门第等级,再以乡品为媒介生成本人的仕宦资格。不同量级的"资"对应不同的官职位阶和晋升途径,对仕途前程具有深刻影响。朝廷通过"资"的升降调节官场的仕进秩序和统治集团的组织人事,归根结底就是按家世门第分配政治资源。此举固然适应中古特定的历史形势,有其存在的合理性和必然性,但不可避免地导致阶层固化、对流停滞,结果是窒息社会活力、妨害公平正义。中古贵族制这一内在顽疾使其终将让位于社会移动自由顺畅的近世平民社会。

From emperor Xiaowen’s Taihe middle period in the Northern Wei dynasty, the tradition of the Wei and Jin dynasties was inherited and the aristocratic system was established to carry out the aristocratism. As the result, the government selected officials according to the family qualifications. The qualifications in the literature of that time refered to the political power of the whole family, which could be converted to the official qualification in the medium of the village grade. The qualification kept precise correspondence with the specific official position and the promotion path that profoundly influenced the political future and the personnel structure of the government. The aim of the mechanism was to allocate power resoures in accordance with the family background. Though it was reasonable and inevitable, it prevented the social mobility and caused the stratum freezing. Because the mechanism destroyed the equality and justice, the aristocratic society must be replaced by the civilian society for equal opportunities and smooth convection.